Pakistan police file criminal case on Musharraf

Pakistan

Salman Masood, New York Times

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Islamabad police officials said Tuesday that they had registered a criminal case against former President Pervez Musharraf for detaining Supreme Court judges after he imposed emergency rule in 2007, raising the prospect of his arrest if he returns to the country.

"If he comes back to Pakistan, we will arrest him and present before the court," said Hakim Khan, an Islamabad Police official, referring to Musharraf. Musharraf resigned last year after facing the threat of impeachment and now lives in London. Political analysts said Musharraf might be bracing for a long exile.

A Supreme Court decision last month declared the emergency rule he imposed in late 2007 illegal and unconstitutional. During that time, Musharraf removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry and dozens of other judges, fearing they would not validate his candidacy for presidential elections while still serving as army chief.

After the judgment, a court in Islamabad ordered the police to begin a criminal case against Musharraf for detaining 60 judges and their families at their residences in Islamabad, the capital. Tuesday, police officials confirmed the case had been registered.

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Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is now demanding that the government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party initiate treason charges against Musharraf. Sharif has his own score to settle with Musharraf, who toppled his government in 1999 in a bloodless coup.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, however, said last week that his government would move against Musharraf only if Parliament passed a unanimous resolution.